Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 (Cth) Sch 9 & Copyright Legislation Amendment Act 2004 (Cth) Sch 1 (Safe Harbours) Safe harbours for intermediaries were introduced as part of the Australia - United States Free Trade Agreement (Ch 17) by the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 (Cth) Sch 9 and amended by the Copyright Legislation Amendment Act 2004 (Cth) Sch 1. The safe harbours largely follow the structure of 17 USC 512, although they have been substantially redrafted. The safe harbours limit the liability for intermediaries to injunctive relief for transmission, caching, hosting, and indexing activities (Section 116AG). The conditions imposed on intermediaries seeking to rely on the safe harbours include a reasonably implemented termination policy for repeat infringers and a notice and takedown...
Website blocking scheme: Section 115A of the Copyright Act 1968 enables copyright owners to the Federal Court of Australia for an injunction requiring ISPs to disable access to online services hosted outside Australia. Before granting the injunction, the Court must be satisfied that the foreign site either directly infringes copyright or ‘facilitates’ infringement. Rightsholders bear the onus of showing that the ‘the primary purpose of the online location is to infringe, or to facilitate the infringement of, copyright (whether or not in Australia).’ The Court must take into consideration a range of factors including whether disabling access to the online location is a proportionate response in the circumstances, the impact on any person likely to be affected by the grant of the injunction, and whether it is in the...
According to Section 81 (1a) of the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz – UrhG), the intermediary can be sued for injunctive relief. However, if the safe harbors of the §§ 13 - 17 ECG apply, only after the right holder has informed him of the infringement in a cease and desist letter.
including Article 87 implementing Article 8.2 of the Infosoc Directive of 2001 which states that “Member States shall ensure that rightholders are in a position to apply for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe a copyright or related right.” Note that this Law has been now codfied and inserted in the Book XI of the Belgian Commercial Law codification, which will enter into force on January, 1 2015
The law introduces a liability exemption for Internet connection providers and the application of the safe harbor doctrine for other Internet application providers. Article 18 addresses the liability of Internet connection providers, grants an exception to those services regarding intermediary liability. It states that “the Internet connection provider shall not be subject to civil liability for content generated by third party”. Article 19, which addresses Internet application providers (excluding connection providers) states that, “in order to ensure freedom of expression and to prevent censorship, an Internet application provider shall only be subject to civil liability for damages caused by virtue of content generated by third parties if, after specific court order, it does not take action, according to the...